web hosting terms & conditions

1) GENERAL:
By using Above Media services, you agree to use the Internet in accordance with the laws and the ethical rules established or to be set up in the future. Our Terms and Conditions of Use policy is one of zero tolerance. We reserve the right to immediately discontinue services without liability, refund or continuance of any prepaid service fees. By using Above Media services, you constitute your approval of our policy.

2) BILLING - GENERAL:
All accounts are set up on a pre-pay basis. All International clients must pay by credit card. All accounts under $50.00/mo must also be paid by credit card. Accounts over $50.00/mo can be paid by check, money order or credit card. Customers with accounts set up on a periodic credit card billing plan must keep credit card information current. It is the customers' responsibility to inform Above Media on changes in credit card type, e-mail address or expiration date to their credit card. Credit card accounts are billed once monthly or yearly, depending on your billing cycle. If your credit card is declined you will have seven days to make payment, after these seven days, your account will be placed on hold until services are paid for. There is a $2.00 credit card resubmission fee if your card is declined. All accounts paying by check have 28 days to send in payment. After the 28-day mark, all accounts will be placed on hold until payment is received. Above Media charges a $25.00 return check fee on all returned checks and a $25.00 charge per wire transfer received. All accounts issuing chargebacks against Above Media will be billed an additional $25.00 per chargeback. For more information, please view our Billing Policy.

NOTE: All accounts billed to a credit card are automatically renewed unless canceled prior to the renewal date. This applies to all monthly, quarterly and yearly accounts.

3) BILLING TERM:
After the initial thirty days of service, each customer is committed to the remaining time on the service they purchased and no refunds will be given. Above Media does not require that you finish off each term and you are free to close your account at anytime without any additional charges or fees. However, Above Media will not pro-rate any return for unused service. For example, if you have an account that you are paying for monthly and you decide to close it a few days after your last payment, you will not be issued any refund, whether in full or pro-rated. By using Above Media, you understand and agree to this billing term. You also understand that while no refund will be issued, you are always free to keep your account open for the full amount of time you have paid for.

4) CANCELLATIONS:
All web hosting and e-commerce plans include a 30-day money back guarantee. If for any reason our services haven't exceeded your standards, please let us know within the first 30 days of account activation and we will refund the money paid for that first month of service minus set-up fees and overage charges. Set-up fees are refundable only if the account order is canceled prior to activation. For web hosting contracts of 3 months or longer, the full contract amount less any set-up fees and overages will be refunded if Above Media is notified within the first 30 days following activation. No refund is available after the 30th day. Due to security concerns (such as fraudulent cancellations), all account cancellations must be done by sending an email using this form, requesting cancellation. You must also include your domain name, username, and password. Phone calls will not constitute acceptance of any cancellation. Refunds will be made by company check or issued back to your credit card within 30 days of receipt of cancellation.

5) CONTENT:
You will not in any way use html, java or perl code that will result unnecessary traffic nor will you install any client side applications that will result in excess traffic. The intent of Above Media is to provide space to serve web documents, not as an off-site storage area for electronic files. You will also not misrepresent the site in such a way that will result in needless traffic. Some examples of unacceptable content or links include: pirated software, hacker programs or archives, Warez sites, Spamware, Copyrighted MP3s and IRC bots. Above Media does not support; (i) sexually explicit, obscene or pornographic content (whether in text or graphics); (ii) speech or images that are offensive, profane, hateful, threatening, harmful, defamatory, libelous, harassing, discriminatory (whether based on race, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical disability or otherwise) or that promote any illegal activity; and/or (iii) graphic violence. We will terminate any account that does not conform to these requirements. Above Media reserves the right to terminate any account, for any reason, without prior notice or warning.

6) E-MAIL:
You will not send out unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE) or Spam, nor do anything that will result in excess mail traffic. You will not use your E-mail account to receive large files or programs over 10 MBs in size. Unsolicited advertising via e-mail or newsgroups is prohibited and will result in immediate account termination without compensation. Spamming, including (but not limited to) mass e-mailing, cross posting, or otherwise causing abuse to others on the Internet is prohibited and will be grounds for account termination without compensation. If you use the services of another provider to promote a web site hosted by or through Above Media, then the provisions of the above Policy shall apply as if the unsolicited e-mail were sent through our servers.

NOTE: Any accounts caught Spamming, or running Spam scripts, will be charged a $100 clean-up fee.

7) FILTERING/SPAM PREVENTION/VIRUS SCANNING:
Above Media uses two filters on all shared servers to help reduce the amount of Spam our users receive. Above Media has chosen Spam Assassin and www.spamcop.net. Spamcop will list any IPs that have been sending out reported Spam. If the Spam stops, the IP is released from the database after 48 hours. By using Above Media, you understand and approve of such filtering. You understand that any person attempting to e-mail you from a server in the Spamcop database will be returned to the sender. In addition to Spam filtering, we scan all attachments for suspicious file extensions, including ".exe", ".scr", and others. If an email contains an executable attachment, the message will be deleted and no other actions will be taken. The sender and yourself will not receive any notifications. If you do not want your service subject to such filtering, then you understand you are free to host your site elsewhere. For more information on Spamcop, please click here.

NOTE: Above Media will open up IP Addresses if we feel the IP Addresses were added to the third party database erroneously. You will need to contact us and tell us the IP Addresses.

8) ILLEGAL ACTIVITY:
Illegal activities, to include; unauthorized distribution or copying copyrighted software, violation of US export restrictions, harassment, fraud, trafficking in obscene material, and other illegal activities will be reported to all regulatory, administrative and/or governmental authorities. Above Media reserves the right to report all such activities.

9) ACCESS:
Access to our servers is for the express purpose of setting up and managing your web site and e-mail. You are not to use the access to compile or run programs that do not directly relate to the web site. You will not view or attempt to modify files that do not belong to you. It is a crime to access any information in the non-public part of a computer regardless of damage or security of the information. Any actions construed to be negligent or malicious attack is strictly prohibited.

Under no circumstances may more than one person log in to any dial-up account at any one time. Violators will be billed as separate accounts and will be subject to immediate account termination without warning and without any refund of unused services.

10) RESOURCE USAGE:
Above Media enforces a strict policy on resource use that all accounts must abide by. In order to keep our servers running at optimal levels, any sites running a process that requires more than 8Mb of memory, more than 30 CPU seconds, or uses more than 10% of all available system resources at any time will be required to move up to a dedicated solution or be hosted elsewhere. Web sites requiring the following are also limited and may not even be allowed at all:

• High CPU-use CGI Scripts - CGI script sharing with domains not hosted by Above Media is not permitted. Any CGI-scripts deemed to be adversely affecting server performance or network integrity will be shut down without prior notice. If your web site has been shut down at another web host for high CGI resource use, you will certainly be shut down here as well. We will not allow a user's web site to affect the other web site owners on our servers.
• CGI-based Chat Rooms - Above Media does not allow customers to install their own CGI-based chat rooms. Chat rooms tend to require significant system resources and therefore cannot be permitted as an account option. Above Media does offer Java-based chat for its customers for an additional fee.
• CGI-based Forums - Above Media does not allow customers to install their own CGI-based Forums. YaBB and Ultimate Bulletin Board Forums tend to require significant system resources and therefore cannot be permitted. Above Media recommends vBulletin or phpBB.
• Background Running Programs and Cron Jobs - Above Media may allow programs to run in the background. These programs will be considered on an individual basis. Customers will not be allowed to execute a cron more then once per hour with Above Media. If you wish to run background programs please contact us so that we can arrange set-up.
• IRC - Above Media does not allow IRC or IRC bots to be operated on our servers.
• Webcams - Above Media does not allow web-cams to be refreshed more then once in a 5 minute period. If you require a refresh rate quicker then 5 minutes, you will need to host your site on a Virtual Dedicated Server.
• Hotlinking - Above Media does not allow hotlinking of any kind (whether hosted by Above Media or hosted elsewhere). This includes using your site to host images or content that is being used in HTML e-mails sent in bulk.

web hosting billing policies

• All accounts are set up on a prepay basis. Above Media must receive payment before we activate any services. If you wish to pay by check, money order, Pay Pal or wire transfer, we must validate funds before we will activate your account.
• All International clients must pay by credit card, Pay Pal or money order. We do not accept international checks.
• All accounts under $50.00/mo must also be paid by credit card. Accounts over $50.00/mo can be paid by check, money order, Pay Pal or credit card.
• Customers with accounts set up on a periodic credit card billing plan must keep credit card information current. It is the customers' responsibility to inform Above Media on changes in credit card type, e-mail address or expiration date of their credit card. To update your credit card information, please call us with your account information and new billing information.
• All accounts billed to a credit card are automatically renewed unless canceled prior to the renewal date. This applies to all monthly, quarterly and yearly accounts. Billing Term

After the initial thirty days of service, each customer is committed to the remaining time on the service they purchased and no refunds will be given. Above Media does not require that you finish off each term and you are free to close your account at anytime without any additional charges or fees. However, Above Media will not pro-rate any return for unused service. For example, if you have an account that you are paying for monthly and you decide to close it a few days after your last payment, you will not be issued any refund, whether in full or pro-rated. By using Above Media, you understand and agree to this billing term. You also understand that while no refund will be issued, you are always free to keep your account open for the full amount of time you have paid for.

Payment Methods

Above Media accepts payments via check, credit card, money order, Pay Pal, wire transfer and electronic funds transfer. Checks must be paid in US dollars and issued from a US bank. Credit Cards currently accepted are American Express, MasterCard and Visa.

Billing Cycle

• Credit Card Billing: All credit cards are automatically billed once on your anniversary billing cycle date. If your credit card is declined, you will have 14 days to make payment. After 14 days, your account will be placed on hold until services are paid for.
• Traditional Billing: All accounts paying by check, money order or Pay Pal will be sent an invoice via e-mail 28 days before the due date. We will send a second notice on the due date. If payment is not received by the 14th day past the due date, Above Media will suspend your account until payment is received.
• On Hold Status: All accounts will be placed on hold after you are 14 days past due. While in this status, all services will be suspended. Above Media keeps all suspended accounts on hold up until the 45-day past due mark. At that stage, they are changed to Collections Status. We do not delete any files or information while On Hold.
• Collections Status: After your account is delinquent 45 days, we will delete all account information, including all files contained within your web site. Once this is done, you will not be able to recover any files. Your account record and delinquent balance is then passed on to our collection agency. Above Media uses a third party to do all of its collections. Fees
• Returned Checks: Above Media charges a $25.00 processing fee on all returned checks.
• Wire Payments (T/T): Above Media charges a $25.00 processing fee for all wire payments (T/T).
• Chargebacks: If you issue a chargeback, either by mistake or fraudulently, Above Media will assess a $25.00 processing fee for each individual chargeback. Once a chargeback has been received, we will immediately suspend your account until the matter is resolved. If you issue a chargeback against Above Media to avoid payment (fraudulent chargeback), we will assess the $25.00 fee and add it to your account total. This will then be turned over to collections.
• Declined Credit Card Fees: Above Media charges a $2.00 credit card resubmission fee if your credit card is declined. A year after the billing cycle was declined, Above Media will drop that record from your account history.
• Past Due Termination Fee: If your account is closed by Above Media due to non-payment, we will add a $20.00 fee to your balance. Refunds

Refunds are only given within the first 30 days of service and must fall within our 30-Day Money Back Guarantee Policy. Above Media will not issue any refunds after 30 days, whether in full or prorated. Another words, if you sign up and pay for a quarterly or yearly account, you will not be given any refund if you decide to cancel after 30 days. All refunds will be made by company check or issued back to your credit card within 30 days of receipt of cancellation. Refunds for a break in our 99.9% Uptime Guarantee or for a break in our 24-Hour Trouble Ticket Response Time Guarantee are issued if we are notified within seven days of the incident.

30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Almost all web hosting and E-Commerce plans include a 30-day money back guarantee. If for any reason our services haven't exceeded your standards, please let us know within the first 30 days of account activation and we will refund the money paid for that first month of service. (Minus set-up fees and overage charges). For more information, please click here.

Cancellations

Due to security concerns (such as fraudulent cancellations), all account cancellations must be done by creating a ticket on our support site, requesting cancellation. You must also include your domain name, username, and password. Phone calls will not constitute acceptance of any cancellation. You will receive a confirmation upon the cancellation of your account, which should be stored for your records. Here are a few other notes regarding cancellation:

• If you transfer your web site to another host or are just not using the service anymore, it is important to point out that Above Media has no way of knowing this and it will not constitute account cancellation. We must be informed that you are canceling your account.
• Closing an account with Above Media cannot be done by simply canceling the credit card. Above Media will continue to treat this as an open account and send it through our billing cycle. The end result is a past due account that will be turned over to collections. It is very important that you cancel your account via the Control Maestro™ Panel to ensure account closure.
• Cancellation of your account does not necessarily close that account. For any account past due or delinquent, the balance must be settled before closing of an account can be possible. All canceled accounts with a balance are automatically turned over to collections.

If you have any questions or concerns about our Billing Policy, please contact us.

30 day guarantee

All web hosting and E-commerce plans include a 30-day money back guarantee. If for any reason our services haven't exceeded your standards, please let us know within the first 30 days of account activation and we will refund the money paid for that first month of service. (Minus set-up fees and overage charges). For web hosting contracts of 3 months or longer, the full contract amount less any set-up fees and overages will be refunded if Above Media is notified within the first 30 days following activation.

• Our refund policy does not apply to any of the following: set-up fees, domain name registrations, reseller accounts, and/or web management services. No refunds are available after 30 days, whether in full or prorated.
• Our Money Back Guarantee does not include refunds to already established Above Media customers who add service after the first 30 days. In other words, if you host a web site with us for over 30 days and decide to add another account, the policy does not apply to these added services.
• Accounts cancelled/terminated by Above Media for violating our Terms and Conditions of Use do not qualify for the 30-day money back guarantee. In other words, if your account is cancelled for spamming or network abuse, you will not be given any refund.
• All refunds are applied to the same credit card used in the initial service purchase. If an account was paid for by check or money order, please allow 2-4 weeks for refund a check to be mailed. Additional processing fees apply for bank wire and T/T refunds.

Cancellations
Due to security concerns (such as fraudulent cancellations), all account cancellations must be done by creating a ticket on our support site, requesting cancellation. You must also include your domain name, username, and password. Phone calls will not constitute acceptance of any cancellation. You will receive a confirmation upon the cancellation of your account.

privacy policy

General
Above Media respects your privacy. When you visit our site, we want you to know what information we collect, why we collect it and where it goes. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy.

Information We Gather and How We Use it
Our online ordering process and product information requests requires your contact information, such as your address, telephone number and e-mail address. We also ask you to tell us how you heard about us. We use that information for our marketing needs. By providing your contact information, we may contact you in connection with products and services that you request, such as confirming your request for information or confirming an online order. We also passively collect information that is automatically sent to us by your web browser. The amount of information sent depends on the settings you have on your web browser; please refer to your browser if you want to learn what information it sends. We use this information to develop statistics that are very helpful to understanding how this site is used by our visitors. We interpret this statistical data in our continuing effort to present the web site content that customers are seeking in a format they find most helpful. By accessing our web site, you consent to the collection and use of your information.

Any form submitted from Above Media' web site will also include your IP address. We use this to track fraudulent submissions and network abuse.

Disclosure to Others
To serve you better, we use information provided by you to perform services that you request. Although we never sell any information to third parties/business affiliates, we may provide personal data to other parties that perform certain functions for us, such as service installation, or to other parties that provide products with our services so that you may obtain service on your product. These third parties are required to only use the information in connection with the requested services.

We may disclose personal information to law enforcement officials and others when we, in our good faith judgment, believe that the law requires us to do so. We may also release selected personal information when that release is necessary, in our good faith and judgment, to apply or enforce the terms of our agreements with our customers and to protect our rights. Above Media will not reference any web sites that we host unless we have the consent of the web site owner. We will also never sell or make available any customer e-mail addresses, nor e-mail addresses that have been created with our services, including all mailing lists.

Links to Other Web Sites
For your convenience, this site may contain certain hyperlinks to other pages. While we have posted our Privacy Policy on our web site, we can make no promises or guarantees regarding data collection on the hyperlinked pages and sites. We therefore recommend that you read the privacy policy/statement for each site you visit.

Security
When you provide information on our web site, we take every precaution to keep your information secure. We limit access to personally identifiable customer information to those employees who have a legitimate business reason for the information. We educate our employees on the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of customer information and use disciplinary measures to enforce our privacy policy. Even though we take care in protecting your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of data on our system and our servers.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy
We have the right to change this privacy policy at any time without notice. By accessing our web site you agree to accept any changes made to our privacy policy.